Radioligand Assay-Based Detection of Antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in Hospital Workers Treating Patients with Severe COVID-19 in Japan

This study aimed to clarify whether infection by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is prevalent among the staff of a hospital providing treatment to patients with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) using radioligand assay (RLA). One thousand samples from the staff of a general hospital providing treatment to patients with severe COVID-19 were assayed for SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein (N) IgG using RLA. Nine patients with COVID-19 who had been treated in inpatient settings and had already recovered were used as control subjects, and 186 blood donor samples obtained more than 10 years ago were used as negative controls. Four of the 1000 samples showed apparently positive results, and approximately 10 or more samples showed slightly high counts. Interestingly, a few among the blood donor samples also showed slightly high values. To validate the results, antibody examinations using ELISA and neutralizing antibody tests were performed on 21 samples, and chemiluminescence immunoassay (CLIA) was performed on 201 samples, both resulting in a very high correlation. One blood donor sample showed slightly positive results in both RLA and CLIA, suggesting a cross-reaction. This study showed that five months after the pandemic began in Japan, the staff of a general hospital with a tertiary emergency medical facility had an extremely low seroprevalence of the antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. Further investigation will be needed to determine whether the slightly high results were due to cross-reactions or a low titer of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. The quantitative RLA was considered sensitive enough to detect low titers of antibodies.     

Cell adhesion molecule contactin‐associated protein 3 is expressed in the mouse basal ganglia during early postnatal stages

Cell adhesion molecules play important roles in the development of the nervous system. Among the contactin‐associated protein (Caspr; also known as Cntnap) family, which belongs to the neurexin superfamily of proteins, Caspr and Caspr2 are indispensable for the formation and maintenance of myelinated nerves. In contrast, a physiological role for Caspr3 remains to be elucidated. This study examines the expression and localization of Caspr3 in the mouse brain using newly generated Caspr3 antibodies. Caspr3 was expressed abundantly between the first and the second postnatal weeks. During this period, Caspr3 was localized especially to the basal ganglia, including the striatum, external segment of the globus pallidus, and substantia nigra, and no gross abnormalities were apparent in the basal ganglia of Caspr3 knockout mice. In the striatum, Caspr3 was expressed by a subpopulation of medium spiny neurons that constitute the direct and indirect pathways. Caspr3 immunostaining was observed as punctate around the cell bodies as well as in the soma. These Caspr3 signals did not, however, overlap with those of synaptic markers. Our findings suggest that Caspr3 may play an important role in basal ganglia development during early postnatal stages. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Links Between Physical Frailty and Regional Gray Matter Volumes in Older Adults: A Voxel-Based Morphometry Study

ObjectivesThe relationship between physical frailty and regional gray matter volume in the brain was investigated among community-dwelling older Japanese people.MethodsParticipants (N = 835; age range 65–89 years) were community-dwelling older adults in Obu City and Higashiura Town in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. Physical frailty was determined by the modified criteria of the Cardiovascular Health Study, which included weight loss, slowness, weakness, exhaustion, and low physical activity. Regional gray matter volumes were evaluated from 3-dimensional T1-weighted magnetic resonance images by statistical parametric mapping. The relationship between physical frailty and regional gray matter volume was analyzed with an analysis of covariance design using statistical parametric mapping adjusting for age, sex, and education level.ResultsThe voxel-based analyses showed that physical frailty per se was not significantly associated with any brain region. However, weakness was associated with reduced gray matter volumes in the hippocampus, amygdala, and fusiform gyrus, and slowness was associated with reduced gray matter volumes in the hippocampus, amygdala, fusiform gyrus, medial prefrontal and orbitofrontal cortex, inferior frontal gyrus, primary somatosensory cortex, insula, superior temporal sulcus, and cerebellum. Other components of physical frailty were not associated with the gray matter volumes in any regions.Conclusions and implicationsThe weakness and slowness components of physical frailty were linked to reduced gray matter volume in brain regions associated with not only physical mobility but also cognitive functions and social processes. This study addressed the underlying mechanisms in the progression of physical, cognitive, and social frailty, from the perspective of brain structures that are associated with frailty.     

Laparoscopic excision of a retroperitoneal schwannoma: A case report

Schwannomas are tumors originating from the Schwann cells of the peripheral nerve sheath. Only 1%–3% of schwannomas reportedly occur in the pelvis. In a 67‐year‐old man, a pelvic mass that was 52 mm in diameter was incidentally diagnosed during a preoperative CT evaluation for prostate cancer. Preoperative 3‐D reconstruction CT showed that the feeding artery to the tumor originated from the internal iliac artery and the drainage vein from the internal iliac vein. Each vessel could be isolated, clipped, and cut with minimal bleeding. The tumor was easily dissected from adjacent structures and was completely resected via laparoscopic surgery. Histopathology and immunohistochemistry of the excised specimen revealed a benign schwannoma. Using 3‐D reconstruction to recognize a tumor's positional relation with the supplying vessels is important for avoiding complications during laparoscopic resection in the narrow pelvis. Laparoscopic resection is safe, feasible, and effective for retroperitoneal schwannoma.     

Akt as a mediator of cell death

Protein kinase B/Akt possesses prosurvival and antiapoptotic activities and is involved in growth factor-mediated neuronal protection. In this study we establish Akt deactivation as a causal mediator of cell death. Akt deactivation occurs in multiple models of cell death including N-methyl-d-aspartate excitotoxicity, vascular stroke, and nitric oxide (NO)- and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-elicited death of HeLa, PC12, and Jurkat T cells. Akt deactivation characterizes both caspase-dependent and -independent cell death. Conditions rescuing cell death, such as treatment with poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase or NO synthase inhibitors and preconditioning with sublethal concentrations of N-methyl-d-aspartate, restore Akt activity. Infection of neurons with adenovirus expressing constitutively active Akt prevents excitotoxicity, whereas phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibitors or infection with dominant negative Akt induce death of untreated neuronal cells.     

Overexpression of PGC1α and accumulation of p62 in apocrine carcinoma of the breast

Apocrine carcinoma is categorized as a special type of breast carcinoma because of its specific morphological features. To clarify the characteristics of apocrine carcinoma from the point of view of the mitochondrial profile, we conducted a comparative study between apocrine and non‐apocrine carcinomas. The expressions of mitochondrial related factors (PGC1α, Nrf1, Nrf2, mtTFA and COX4) were examined in a testing set of breast cancer tissue. Apocrine carcinomas showed a clear tendency towards higher mRNA expression levels of PGC1α than non‐apocrine carcinomas. The expression of the selected factor, PGC1α, as well as that of p62 was further examined. The results revealed that apocrine carcinomas showed a higher immunohistochemical positivity rate for PGC1α (21.3% vs. 3.2%; P = 0.008), and that the mRNA expression level of PGC1α was significantly higher in apocrine carcinoma than in non‐apocrine carcinoma (P = 0.007). The immunohistochemical positivity rate for p62 protein was also higher in apocrine carcinomas (44.7% vs. 21.0%; P = 0.015), although no significant difference in the p62 mRNA expression level was detected between the two types of carcinoma (P = 0.633). In conclusion, this study revealed that apocrine carcinoma overexpressed PGC1α contributing to mitochondrial biogenesis, and also p62 protein accumulation.     

Effect of heel pressure pad attached to ankle-foot orthosis on the energy conversion efficiency in post-stroke hemiplegic gait

[Purpose] This study aimed to analyze the effect of heel pads in ankle-foot orthoses on dynamic motion aspects of gait in stroke patients from the viewpoint of energy conversion efficiency. [Subjects] Fourteen chronic stroke patients who were ambulatory and had lower extremity motor function categorized as Brunnstrom stage IV participated in the study. [Methods] A three-dimensional motion analysis system was used to assess the effect of heel pad intervention on dynamic motion gait parameters using a single-system A-B-A design. [Results] The results showed that a heel pad attached to the ankle-foot orthosis caused significant retention of the center-of-pressure at the heel during the heel rocker function and significant increase in the dorsiflexion moment and the height of the center of gravity. [Conclusion] The present study showed that a heel pad attached to the calcaneal region of an ankle-foot orthosis caused slight retention of the center-of-pressure at the heel during the heel rocker function along with center of gravity elevation in the stance phase and improved the energy conversion efficiency, especially on the non-paretic side.Key words: Heel pad, Three-dimensional motion analysis, Hemiplegic gait